If you asked her years ago when she was working in a call center, Regmi would have a question for you. “Are you crazy?” Regmi, founder and CEO of Teachndo Career Consultancy in Sudbury, OD, said, laughing at the distant memory. But that was then – not today, when even her former call center colleagues were working from home in the midst of a pandemic shift to more flexible work. However, the proportion of Canadians who work from home is often declining as the protective cover for public health restrictions is lifted and businesses gain more confidence to bring their people back to the office. This creates tension with those employees who do not want to return as they were – but who need to adjust if they have to.
A changing landscape?
Statistics Canada reports that nearly one in five Canadian workers has been doing most of their work from home since May. That sounds like a lot, but it dropped by more than 24 percent in January – and much lower than what was reported in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rising fuel prices are just one of the costs for office workers returning to work after an extended period of work from home during a pandemic. (Alex Lupul / CBC) Ruel Tria has been working from home for more than two years. For him, the arrangement is fine. “Our business allows it,” said Tria, a business supervisor who did all the work in a Toronto office before the pandemic. But that could change, as his workplace has sent inquiries asking about potential concerns employees may have about returning to the office. Tria saved money while working from home, as well as the time he spent on the move. “My concern is obviously the rising cost of fuel,” Tria said, noting that this is only one cost that makes commuters more expensive. Nita Chhinzer, an associate professor of human resources in management at the University of Guelph in southwestern Ontario, said there are a number of reasons why employees do not want to return to the office – not all of them are strictly financial. CLOCKS Different behaviors when returning to the office:
Pushing and pulling people back into the office
Nita Chhinzer, an associate professor of human resources at the University of Guelph, speaks to CBC’s Canada Tonight about issues employers are struggling with as they try to bring staff back to the office after an extended period of work from home during the pandemic. “Maybe someone has moved out of town, or they may have sold the car, or they may not want to travel anymore, or they may realize that they are no longer interested in politics and work drama,” Chhinzer told CBC’s Canada Tonight. the manufacture. Beyond that, he said, there are differing views among people about what works best for them – including those who want to return to office more regularly – and this is something employers have to contend with. “The challenge for employers today is: How do they provide this flexibility, but still create an environment where they can bring people together and recreate the workplace pulse?” said Chhinzer.
People are not where they used to be
Cities are also feeling the effects of seeing fewer people travel to the office. In Toronto, returning to the office has been delayed and walking to the core of downtown offices remains well below pre-pandemic levels. The percentage of Canadians working from home is often declining as the protective cap on public health restrictions is lifted and companies gain more confidence in bringing staff back to the office. (Evan Mitsui / CBC) Marcy Burchfield, vice president of economics at the Toronto County Business Council, said the city’s long-standing pandemic constraints have shaped its pace of recovery. “People all over the Toronto area were working remotely for extended periods of time,” Burchfield said. “There is a direct relationship between the time a jurisdiction was locked and the return of the office orbit. And Toronto is a perfect example of that.” And that trajectory could be slower than some businesses would like: Mark Rose, chief executive of commercial real estate firm Avison Young, told the Globe and Mail last week that a full, general return to office is likely five years away.
Flexibility is a key draw for some
On the East Coast, Paige Black is working on a new job she has been looking for specifically because of the flexibility it offers in allowing her to work from home in Dartmouth, NS She left her last job because this option would no longer be available in the same way. CLOCKS Not everyone wants to return:
Companies that are forced to return to their offices, for some, is something that excludes agreements, according to research
One in three Canadians say they would consider looking for a new job if their employer forced them to return to office, and nearly a quarter would resign immediately, according to a new survey by CBC News and Angus Reid. Like Tria, Black used to work in an office before the pandemic. The non-profit professional admits that he “was not a big fan” of working from home, at least initially. But she soon discovered that more flexible work offered many benefits, including greater control over her daily life. “I felt like I got more of my time back,” he said. Sweta Regmi, founder and CEO of Teachndo Career Consultancy in Sudbury, Ont., Says that for some employees, the ability to work flexibly is an “invaluable” privilege. (Submitted by Sweta Regmi) For Black and many others, this kind of flexibility is hard to beat. “No one can put a price on flexibility,” said Regmi, a career counselor, summing up his value to employees. “This is invaluable.”
Embracing flexibility
In some of the larger organizations in Canada, it is recognized that flexibility is here to stay – and they focus on what they need to do to support it. At Canada Life Assurance Company, for example, the organization aims to support both its people and a range of work styles. The Canada Life Assurance Company says it has made changes to its main campuses and some of its regional offices in an effort to provide more up-to-date meeting facilities and more modern meeting places for its employees. (Submitted by Liz Kulyk) “Our approach to returning to the office is what enables our 11,000 employees to do their best job – wherever they are,” said Colleen Bailey Moffitt, the company’s senior vice president of human resources, in a statement sent via e-mail. Bailey Moffitt said Canada Life is “committed to supporting a hybrid, flexible way of working” and recognizing that its teams and people have different needs. It allows leaders to decide “which work style best suits their team”. But the insurance giant has also taken steps to ensure that its various campuses and offices are welcoming to the staff and fully equipped for their personal work. And it has invested in these spaces over the last two years, including the modernization of meeting rooms and common areas. Other large employers have made similar investments in facilities during the pandemic, as the changing long-term needs of their businesses have become apparent. The federal government has also called for a broader change in the way people work – including its own civil servants. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal civil servants demonstrated their ability to adapt to new ways of working both locally and remotely, delivering results for Canadians,” the Treasury Department said in a statement. The board said it did not have government-level data available on the percentage of federal employees working on site in relation to a remote facility, but said “more and more employees are entering the workplace on a regular basis.” The experience of the past two years will help the government develop “flexible, hybrid workforce models as part of how and where civil servants work in the future,” the council said.
